Reviews by suspiciousnumber

Well, on the one hand, I really dislike Randy Newman, as I have made known when I've gotten his albums previously on this list. On the other hand, I think we've identified the Randy Newman album I hate the least. I'm not sure what it is about this one, but it feels a little more genuine and like he's trying to craft the songs a bit more. I like it well enough. Also, while it's fun to go on screeds during the original list (all of my most popular reviews are the meanest ones), I hate trashing on an album that someone put on this list. This album is pleasant enough either way that I don't find myself filled will rage the way I have with previous Randy Newman albums

3/5 I have a lot to say, and yet very little of it is about the actual songs on this album

This one didn't really inspire me. It's not particularly my brand of rock, and there was nothing idiosyncratic to this album or group that I could really latch onto. Competently made, but ultimately not something I could connect with

3/5

I was skeptical, but this album won me over, which is always a an accomplishment for a folky album. The production is excellent, and it really allows you to hear how intricate the music is. The voices disappear for long minutes, but you don't miss it, and then it fits in really well when the vocals come back. I don't even know what I would call this genre, but it's just an incredibly beautiful work

4/5

What a fucking weird album. I guess I didn't know what I was expecting from avant-pop, but it wasn't this pleasant, vaguely nostalgic set of songs that somehow manage to be generic and compelling at the same time. I have no idea how else to describe it. It's meant to feel familiar, and it certainly does, but I don't know what it feels familiar to

4/5 You kinda fucked my brain up with this one

This album is okay. At first, it sounds like a Bryan Adams album from the early 90s. It gets better from there, but at the same time I don't feel like it's doing anything new for an album made in 2025. Maybe doing new things isn't the point of music anymore. It's all pleasant enough and competently made. Not particularly my alley of rock music, but it's a sold enough listen

3/5

This album is cool and weird and sounds like it could have been made in the 70s but definitely wasn't. I don't generally get into prog rock, but this is one of many albums on this list that landed in my prog rock sweet spot. Big, epic music that can build quietly into a swell of musical waves that crash one after the other, and it doesn't feel self-indulgent. Fuck yeah

4/5

This is probably my second favorite tool album. There will never be another one as good as AEnima for me, but album is also good. After this, it gets harder for me to listen to Tool albums and get much out of them. The songs are slower and more progressive here than on AEnima, but still very enjoyable overall

4/5

This is one of those things that is just totally not for me, but I can't judge it harshly either. I don't particularly care for folk, even punky folk. This seems like it would be a fun show to go to, but I'm the wrong person to be appreciating this album

3/5

This is a band that I've been meaning to listen to for a while, since it seems like I see their name everywhere. They also seem to be highly prolific, which might account for the fact that I didn't really find much to latch onto here. It's all very competently made, but it felt generic a lot. That can definitely be a downside of bands that put out a lot of albums, since inevitably everything is less polished. It's a fun album, I can't say that I disliked it, but it didn't speak to me either

3/5

This feels like a weird one to rate in 2026. The mashup thing was fun, and Girl Talk is probably the peak of this approach to sampling. It's good, but feels very outdated now, and also lacks originality in the composition. Sampling without original composition feels a little soulless to me, even if I think this would have been fun as hell to see live. It's all very well done and it's a fun album, but it doesn't feel like OC, and it's hard for me to get around that

3/5

Well, this was much different than what I was expecting, but I think this is my favorite of the Gorillaz albums I've heard. My criticism of the previous albums that I've heard was that it always felt like this band was working below their potential. For whatever reason, I didn't feel that way this time. This sounds much different than what I was expecting, much more synth-heavy with less of an instrumental hip-hop vibe. Granted, it's been like 20 years since I checked in on this band. Still, though, I thought this was solid all the way through

4/5

This album was cool. It's not particularly something that I'm interested in or going to come back to, but for 1966 this is incredibly innovative. It's a sort of early psychedelic blues rock that explores a lot of different musical ideas while always feeling really grounded. The recording quality isn't amazing, but that's normal for things this far off the beaten path for this era.

4/5 I was totally unfamiliar with this, but it's a really cool lost gem from the mid-60s

I really didn't get into this one. There were times when it felt like it might be the kind of weird that I enjoy, but it mostly just played in the background while I took very little interest in it

2/5

I am really struggling with this album. In parts, it's a great listen, with excellent production and really well composed songs. In other parts, it is cloying and predictable, to the point of being annoying. If I was at a dance party and someone threw this on, I'd be good with listening to the whole thing, and I bet their concerts are so fucking fun. It really feels right in between a 3 and a 4 for me

3/5 It's a really fun 3, it just didn't quite blow me away enough for a 4, but I could see myself picking this album up if I found it in a record store

This album takes me back. It comes from that interesting RHCP era when John Frusciante was gone from the band and Dave Navarro stepped in at guitar. It's kind of a forgotten since it falls in between their two biggest albums, but I always thought this one had some charm to it.

Having re-listened to it, this album is a lot worse than I remember. It's a truly baffling choice to put a song as bad as Deep Kick as the third song on your album. But, listening to the other songs, they had a lot of filler to go around, so it had to go somewhere.

2/5 I think I would have rated this album much better if I hadn't listened to it again. I had some fond memories of listening to this one, but like a lot of RHCP's stuff, it just doesn't feel like it grew up with me.

This was interesting. It's really not my brand of rock, since I don't really care about this dude's ex-girlfriend or whatever. However, the music is solid and goes through a lot of progression that feels really well thought out. The vocal performances are good too. The lyrics and their delivery style are a little trite for me. However, I can't deny that I caught myself tapping my toe a couple of times

3/5 but close to a 4. Unfortunately just too much raw emotion for me to handle

Such a cool, weird rock album. It feels like it's influenced by so many things that it's hard to pinpoint where the sound comes from. Sometimes it's Van Halen, sometimes it's prog rock, sometimes its noise rock. Cool as fuck, though. I'm definitely coming back to this one

4/5

This album was cool overall, though not particularly for me. She has a great voice, and the music is well suited to what she's doing. It's just a little slow and folky for my taste

3/5

This was much more straightahead rock than I was expecting based on when it was made. It's charming enough, and he has a nice voice, but it's really not my thing

3/5

I had a surprising time getting myself to write anything about this, but I really like it. I wish I had diverged from mainstream hip-hop a little sooner, since I missed out on lots of cool stuff like this. Music is great, and they lyrics run deep. Really huge lexicon and brings the science

4/5